Erika
by aK
Summary: One-shots of Erika's encounters with each of the main male characters of 'Meine Liebe'
1. Camus

_A message:_

_Before anything else, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank all the lovely people who reviewed my other 'ML' fic - and all my other fics, for that matter. I'm sorry for not replying all of you personally, but your comments were read and are greatly appreciated. And to everyone for taking the time to read my fics, thank you for your 'hits' - I hope you enjoyed what you read. _

_Thank you all very much once again. Do enjoy your time here and have a nice day :) _

**Camus**

It's not that he didn't like taking care of them; no, far from it. They were his ever faithful and loyal companions, his very life – he'd do anything for them.

But Camus knew he wasn't exactly the healthiest of individuals, and given the vast array of flora that filled the greenhouse, he wouldn't have minded an extra pair of hands to help out every now and then, especially on this particular morning. It seemed that the flu season had once again arrived.

Taking a watering can, he'd started to fill it with water when he felt her unmistakable presence, all bright and cheerful with a slight twinge of fluster.

"Good morning, Erika-san. What brings you here so early in the day?"

"Ah, Camus, good morning," Erika returned the greeting with a smile as she stepped through the threshold, hugging a stack of papers to her chest, "Have you seen Lui-sama? I need to pass these documents to him before classes start, and I thought he'd be here."

Camus glanced out at the gradually brightening sky, "I'm afraid he hasn't stopped by yet. You're a bit too early, Erika-san. Would you like to leave the documents behind instead?"

Erika considered Camus' offer, then shook her head in reply, "No, it'd be better if I handed them to him personally. But thank you for you kind offer."

She made a move to leave when she noticed the watering can in Camus' hand.

"Oh, were you just about to water the plants?"

"Ah, hai," Camus replied, holding up the gardening tool in his hand that he'd almost forgotten he was holding.

Briskly putting the documents on a nearby chair before grabbing another watering can, Erika then proceeded to fill it with water.

"Please allow me to assist you, Camus."

He hadn't expected his wish to actually get answered, but Erika's actions weren't all unexpected. She was Erika after all; and this was just the sort of thing she'd do without hesitation.

"I'd very much appreciate it if you did, Erika-san," Camus answered, genuinely grateful, "as would all the plants here," he continued, giving voice to those that could not speak out loud for themselves.

Erika smiled happily as she finished filling her watering can and went to join Camus along the row of carnations.

"It's my pleasure," she said, carefully watering the plants.

'_And my privilege…,' _thought Camus, as he and Erika carried out their task in companionable silence.

**Standard disclaimers apply**


	2. Ludwig

**Ludwig**

He was bored. You couldn't tell it from his look, and he'd never admit it to anyone, but he was bored.

He usually was, during the short period of time from when he opened his eyes to a new day, to when classes started. And he was especially more so at present, with no conspiracies or plots to occupy his thoughts.

It's not that he didn't appreciate the calm and peace that the Kingdom of Kuchen was privileged to be currently experiencing, but he always welcomed a challenge; anything to stimulate his superior intellect.

Regardless of the circumstances, as usual, he'd just head over to the greenhouse and let his cousin amuse him before classes started. After that, things usually picked up enough so satisfy him.

Oh, and if he remembered correctly – which he always did – that Erika girl was supposed to pass him some documents to look over for the next meeting.

'_She'd better not have forgotten…again,' _he thought as he neared the greenhouse.

Just then, as if materializing out of his thoughts, Erika emerged from the entrance to the greenhouse, a stack of papers in hand, not paying attention to where she was going as she waved goodbye to Camus, and promptly bumped into the person of Ludwig.

Erika 'eep-ed' as she fell backwards; reflexively stretching out her hands behind her to break her fall.

Foreseeing the potential mess of papers that was about to ensue, Ludwig swiftly reached out and snatched the documents from Erika's hands just as she released her grip on them. It was a perfect coordination of movements that would have made Edgar Degas tremble with excitement to capture on canvas.

Quickly scanning through the contents of the pages in his hands, Ludwig confirmed with satisfaction that he'd indeed managed to rescue the documents that Erika was supposed to deliver to him. She could have carried out her task a little less dramatically though.

Bending down, Ludwig gave Erika one of his apathetic looks – which pretty much is how he always looked, anyway – and held out the documents before her.

"I presume these are for me?"

Erika was horrified that the person she'd bumped into was none other than Lui-sama; and her expression certainly showed it, with her eyes doubling in size, and her mouth dropping open in an 'O' of dismay.

"H-hai, Ludwig-sama…" Erika successfully made herself answer as she started backing slowly away from him. She stopped however, when she noticed that Ludwig had extended a hand to her.

She regarded Ludwig's offer of help not without some apprehension, but accepted it gratefully nonetheless.

"Thank you very much, Ludwig-sama," Erika said as Ludwig straightened, pulling her up with him, "I-I'm really sorry for bumping into you," she continued sheepishly.

Ludwig merely 'hmph-ed' and dismissed her with a wave; he preferred not to prolong this meeting any longer than was necessary for both their sakes.

"If there's nothing further, you may leave. I will look through your work and get back to you with any changes as needed."

Erika really ought to have been used to Ludwig's curtness by now, but she was still slightly flabbergasted by his response.

"H-hai, Ludwig-sama. Thank you very much," she replied with a polite bow before hastily rushing off.

Ludwig released a sigh of vexation at Erika's seemingly never ending antics as he resumed his course towards the greenhouse. He would certainly be loathe to do so, but even Ludwig had to acknowledge that there was some benefit to Erika's clumsiness though; life could get mundane at times, but at least he could always count on Erika for amusement.

* * *

Camus had witnessed the whole incident and immediately confronted Ludwig as soon as he stepped into the greenhouse.

"Lui, why didn't you prevent Erika from falling as well?"

Ludwig looked at Camus indifferently, noting the disapproval in his cousin's voice, as he deposited himself in his usual seat.

"You of all people ought to know," Ludwig replied deliberately, though not harshly, "that papers cannot help themselves; but when humans fall, they can always pick themselves up. This resilience is our gift, after all, is it not?"

Camus smiled at Ludwig's answer, well aware that despite his seeming insensitivity and sternness, he was as much a softy at heart – albeit very, very deep down – as Camus was.

"Hai, hai, Lui. You're right as always, of course."

"Of course I am," Ludwig agreed, resting his chin in the palm of his hand in disinterest.

At his response, Camus chuckled some more before serving his cousin some morning tea.

**Standard disclaimers apply**


	3. Eduard

**Eduard**

Eduard liked to do things on impulse, to just get up and go whenever he felt like it. He was what one would call a 'free spirit'; and a mischievous one at that too.

It was admittedly this combination of personality that led him on his present quest.

Bored of studying for the upcoming exams, he'd decided to take a horseback riding break, but he also felt like company. He knew Orphe wouldn't mind accompanying him, but he didn't feel like disturbing Orphe's studying – it felt like an abuse of friendship, to just take up someone else's time on your own selfish fancy, especially when you knew they'd be more inclined to agree than not, even at their own expense.

Fortunately, Ed knew someone who he had every right to drag along with him on a selfish whim. They say that 'blood is thicker than water', after all.

And so, there he was, perched on a branch of one of the trees outside the girls' dorm. Taking a quick peek through one of the windows to make sure his subject was decent; he then rapped the window a few times before opening it and stepping into the corresponding room without bothering to wait for a reply.

"Yo, Sis!"

Erika jumped up from her seat at her desk, startled at the sudden greeting. She picked up one of her textbooks to throw at the intruder, but dropped it surprised instead when she registered who the intruder was.

"E-Ed?? W-what are you doing here?"

Eduard stretched his hands over his head and gave a small yawn before walking over to pick up Erika's book for her.

"Ne, all this studying and no play, is boring, isn't it? Won't you join your dear older brother for a much needed break?" he asked, placing her book on her desk for her.

"Well, I do feel like taking a break, but I should really finish another chapter…" Erika looked from the textbook she was reading, to Ed who was leaning against the back of her chair, like he was purposely trying to prevent her from sitting down again.

"Please?" he tried with a playful glint in his eye.

It wasn't that hard a choice to make.

"Uh, okay!" she replied enthusiastically, grateful for the distraction.

"Great, let's go," Ed said as he started walking back towards the window. The sound of Erika's giggling made him stop and turn to look at her curiously. "Uh, did big brother do something funny?"

"Yes, he did," Erika managed to reply through her increasing giggles at the puzzled expression on Ed's face.

She walked over to where he stood and took his hand firmly.

"Let's use the door, okay?" she suggested lightheartedly as she led Ed away from the window.

Realizing his blooper, Ed started laughing himself as he allowed himself to be led along, "Sure thing, Sis."

**Standard disclaimers apply**

Note: Though the personalities of the characters are partly products of my own imagination (read 'OOC' – slightly :P), I can't resist saying/typing this: I WISH ED WAS MY BROTHER! XP

_P/S: This is supposed to be a six-part series, one chapter for each of the "leading male" characters (shout-out to 'm o o g l e d a i m e' for the idea), but I'm not really satisfied with how the pieces for the remaining three turned out. So, until I get around to rewriting them, or finally decide to just post what I've got for the sake of completeness, this is it folks... Thanks for sticking around ;) GoDspeed :)_


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